Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), hypopnea, and upper airway resistance syndrome (UARS) are among a variety of known disorders characterized by episodes of complete or partial upper airway obstruction during such as sleep, anesthetization, or post anesthesia. OSA, hypopnea, and UARS cause intermittent interruption of ventilation during sleep with the consequence of potentially severe oxyhemoglobin desaturation. Typically, those afflicted with OSA, hypopnea, and/or UARS experience repeated, frequent arousal from sleep in response to the oxygen deprivation. The arousals result in sleep fragmentation and poor sleep continuity.
To treat such disorders, it has been proposed to apply a negative pressure to a user's oral cavity. For example, an appliance for treating obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may utilize a device held in a patient's mouth where a vacuum is constantly drawn on the device in order to reposition portions of the patient's oral anatomy to reduce the likelihood of OSA. For example, the vacuum may be drawn in order to help draw the soft palate and/or rear portion of a patient's tongue away from the pharynx in order to maintain a clear breathing passage. In such devices which draw a partial negative pressure within the oral cavity, there is a likelihood that a flow of saliva will be created in conduits and other flow passages connected to the oral appliance to maintain the vacuum. In order to avoid fouling the equipment which produces the vacuum, a saliva collector may be provided in-line to remove and collect the saliva.